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I am EXCITED That UF May Have FIXED My Greatest CONCERN! | Gators Football · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

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  Speaker 1: We're finally getting some answers to the questions that we
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: have been asking basically since Coach Summerall took this job.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: This video is brought to you by PrizePix. Don't forget,
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  Speaker 1: right now. Subscribe. We're almost there. I want to hit
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  Speaker 1: this number before the season starts. We have a little
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: over a week to get there, and I know you
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: can help me do it. All right, so we know
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Filo is going to get the lion's share of
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  Speaker 1: the first-team reps at quarterback. And at the beginning of
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  Speaker 1: the week, Summerall gave us probably the clearest picture that
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  Speaker 1: we have gotten all offseason of what Florida's starting offensive
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  Speaker 1: line is going to look like. And considering this has
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  Speaker 1: been my biggest question mark on the entire offense, this
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  Speaker 1: is a pretty significant update because remember where we were
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  Speaker 1: back in the spring, someone was very open about the
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  Speaker 1: fact that he was not happy with where this offensive
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  Speaker 1: line was. He talked to the sec media days about
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  Speaker 1: being underwhelmed by the strength of the group. When he
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  Speaker 1: first got to Gainesville, they were mixing and matching guys.
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  Speaker 1: We weren't sure who the best five were. There weren't
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  Speaker 1: really even completely sure where some guys were going to play,
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  Speaker 1: like what position. Fast forward to now and Summerall says
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  Speaker 1: they are really close. So as of today, here is
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  Speaker 1: your likely starting five. Bryce Lovett at left tackle, Najee
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  Speaker 1: Harris at left guard, Harrison Moore at center, TJ Shanahan
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  Speaker 1: at right guard, and Amika Aghori at right tackle. And
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  Speaker 1: I want to emphasize that word as of today because
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  Speaker 1: Summerall did that too. He said Florida will probably play
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  Speaker 1: a decent number of offensive linemen in those first couple
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  Speaker 1: of games where they continue to figure out what the
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  Speaker 1: best long-term combination actually looks like. TJ Dice, Egan Boyer,
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  Speaker 1: and Caden Jones are all still very much in the
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  Speaker 1: tackle competition. And Roderick Kearney has apparently had a really
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  Speaker 1: good camp at guard as well. But this is the
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  Speaker 1: five that Florida has been working with most recently. And
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  Speaker 1: there are a couple of really interesting developments here. Let's
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  Speaker 1: talk about. Let's start with the biggest one for me,
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  Speaker 1: and that's Bryce Lovett. If we were making projected depth charts,
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  Speaker 1: let's say four months ago, I'm not sure many of
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  Speaker 1: us would have had Bryce Lovett penciled in as Florida's
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  Speaker 1: starting left tackle. But this might be one of the
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  Speaker 1: best stories of camp. Lovett is 6'5, 305 pounds, and
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  Speaker 1: has completely changed his body since the new staff arrived.
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  Speaker 1: According to Summerall, Lovett has lost 50 or excuse me,
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  Speaker 1: 43 pounds of fat while adding 22 pounds of lean
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  Speaker 1: mass over the off season. That is a ridiculous transformation.
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  Speaker 1: And apparently it is translated directly onto the football field.
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  Speaker 1: Lovett has played both guard and tackle during his Florida career.
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  Speaker 1: Last season, he initially got an opportunity at right tackle,
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  Speaker 1: struggled some early and ultimately ended up being more of
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  Speaker 1: a rotational player. So when this staff arrived, I think
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  Speaker 1: most of us assume maybe guard was ultimately where he
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  Speaker 1: would land. Instead, he might be your starting left tackle.
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  Speaker 1: And Semmel made it pretty clear that this wasn't just
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  Speaker 1: a situation where everybody else struggled and Lovett happened to
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  Speaker 1: win the job. He said they challenged Lovett, Lovett responded,
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  Speaker 1: and he has really, quote, elevated at tackle. Then Semmel
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  Speaker 1: talked about the opening drive on Saturday night's scrimmage, and
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  Speaker 1: he said the best player on the field during that
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  Speaker 1: drive was either Jaden Ball or Bryce Lovett. That's exactly
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  Speaker 1: what you want to hear because protecting the quarterback's blind
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  Speaker 1: side was probably the single biggest unknown of this off season.
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  Speaker 1: If Bryce Lovett has legitimately developed into a quality SEC
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  Speaker 1: left tackle, that changes the outlook of this entire offense.
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  Speaker 1: Next to him is the guy that I probably worry
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  Speaker 1: about the least Najee Harris. Harris is back at left
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  Speaker 1: guard and there really isn't much drama here. He started
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  Speaker 1: all 12 games last season. He played 672 offensive snaps.
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  Speaker 1: and finished with the 74.2 PFF pass blocking grade. He
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  Speaker 1: was also part of an offensive line that helped Florida
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  Speaker 1: rush for more than 1800 yards and helped Jaden Bob
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  Speaker 1: become Florida's first thousand yard rusher since Kelvin Taylor in 2015.
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  Speaker 1: I think Harris becomes even more important this year because
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  Speaker 1: there has just been so much movement around him. Florida
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  Speaker 1: lost Jake slaughter. They lost Austin Barber. They lost Damian George.
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  Speaker 1: There are transfers coming in, guys changing positions, guys competing
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  Speaker 1: all over the place. Harris is the constant. You know
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  Speaker 1: what you have at left guard. And when you're trying
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  Speaker 1: to create continuity across five positions, having one veteran who
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  Speaker 1: has played a ton of SEC football is incredibly valuable.
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  Speaker 1: I want to take a quick break from this video
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  Speaker 1: to give some love to Alumni Hall. Guys, we are
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: only about a week away from kickoff. And I know
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: some of you might still be shopping for your game
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: day attire. Check out alumnihall.com or if you're in games,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: they'll go to the brick and mortar store on Archer Road.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: They have given us a discount code for you. It's PEAK15.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: That's P-E-E-K-1-5. It's going to give you 15% off your
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: entire order. Things like Nike and Jordan and Peter Millar
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: and Cutter and Buck, all the brands that you're looking for,
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  Speaker 1: you can find it all in one place. We appreciate
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  Speaker 1: Alumni Hall for all their support. Then you go to
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  Speaker 1: center and Harrison Moore might end up being one of
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  Speaker 1: the more important transfers Florida has added this offseason. Replacing
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  Speaker 1: Jake Slaughter was never going to be easy. Slaughter became
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  Speaker 1: an All-American and a second round NFL draft pick. You
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  Speaker 1: don't just snap your fingers and replace that. But Harrison
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  Speaker 1: Moore comes to Florida after starting eight games at center
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  Speaker 1: for Georgia Tech last year. And this is an important stat.
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  Speaker 1: Georgia Tech allowed only nine sacks all season in 2025
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  Speaker 1: while also averaging nearly 200 rushing yards per game. Moore
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  Speaker 1: played 682 snaps for that offense. He also knows Buster
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  Speaker 1: Faulkner's offense, and I think that's important as well, especially
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  Speaker 1: now that Aaron Filo is likely going to be the
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  Speaker 1: starter quarterback. Your quarterback and your center have both operated
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  Speaker 1: this offense before. They understand the terminology. They understand the protections.
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  Speaker 1: They understand what Faulkner is trying to accomplish. And Moore
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  Speaker 1: has gotten rave reviews since he's arrived. Faulkner has talked
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  Speaker 1: about his toughness. His teammates have talked about his leadership.
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  Speaker 1: He's already on the Remington Trophy watch list. And Tramell
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  Speaker 1: Jones actually compared the way that Moore carries himself to
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  Speaker 1: Jake Slaughter. And I think that's pretty high praise. I'm
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  Speaker 1: not saying Harrison Moore is going to automatically be Jake Slaughter.
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  Speaker 1: But if you are going to replace an All-American center,
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  Speaker 1: getting an experienced guy who already understands the offense is
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  Speaker 1: probably as about as good a situation as Florida could
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  Speaker 1: have hoped for. Then we get to TJ Shanahan. And
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  Speaker 1: this is probably the guy on the offense line who
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  Speaker 1: best fits John Summerall's personality. Summerall wants physical football. He
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  Speaker 1: wants toughness. He wants guys who play with an edge.
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  Speaker 1: TJ Shanahan seems to be exactly that guy. Shanahan was
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  Speaker 1: a former five-star recruit who originally went to Texas A
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  Speaker 1: & M before transferring to Penn State, and now he
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  Speaker 1: has followed offensive line coach Phil Trotwine to Florida. Last season,
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  Speaker 1: he played in all 13 games for Penn State and
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  Speaker 1: started in five. He played both left and right guard,
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  Speaker 1: and according to Florida's official bio, he posted a 75.1
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  Speaker 1: pass blocking grade, and went the regular season without allowing
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  Speaker 1: a sack. But the thing you hear about Shanahan over
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  Speaker 1: and over again isn't necessarily a statistic. It's his physicality.
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  Speaker 1: Sarmal basically said that when Shanahan is at the line
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  Speaker 1: of scrimmage, you are going to feel him. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what Florida needs. Because going back to the beginning of
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  Speaker 1: this offseason, Sarmal wasn't questioning whether these guys looked like
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  Speaker 1: offensive linemen. He was questioning whether the group was strong enough,
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  Speaker 1: physical enough, and consistent enough. Shanahan brings some of that
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  Speaker 1: nastiness that this room desperately needed. And putting Harris, Moore,
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  Speaker 1: and Shanahan together gives Florida a pretty interesting interior offensive line.
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  Speaker 1: That part of the group, quite frankly, I feel pretty
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  Speaker 1: good about. Now here's the surprise number two, Amika Ogori
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  Speaker 1: at right tackle. Ogori transferred from Stanford after playing as
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  Speaker 1: a true freshman last season. And despite being only a sophomore,
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  Speaker 1: he actually has a decent amount of experience. He played
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  Speaker 1: in 10 games and made eight starts. He started one
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  Speaker 1: game at right tackle and then seven consecutive games at
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  Speaker 1: right guard. He played 523 snaps at guard, which led
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  Speaker 1: ACC true freshman, and he committed only two penalties. Now,
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  Speaker 1: he is apparently your leader for right tackle, and that's
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  Speaker 1: noteworthy because of the guy currently behind him. Caden Jones
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  Speaker 1: started 10 games at right tackle for Florida last season.
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  Speaker 1: Jones played 541 offensive snaps, He went through that brutal
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  Speaker 1: stretch against LSU, Miami, Texas, Texas A & M, and
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  Speaker 1: the rest of Florida's schedule. So he isn't some developmental
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  Speaker 1: player who's never played. He's a returning starter. And right now,
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  Speaker 1: Oguri has apparently passed him. I don't necessarily view that
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  Speaker 1: as a negative on Caden Jones. If anything, I'm hoping
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  Speaker 1: it means the competition has raised the level of the room.
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  Speaker 1: Because Summerall specifically said Caden Jones, Egan Boyer, and TJ
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  Speaker 1: Dice are still very much alive in this competition. That
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  Speaker 1: this thing is not finished. And I actually like that.
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  Speaker 1: We spent so much time talking about the starting five
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  Speaker 1: on the offensive line, but realistically, you almost never make
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  Speaker 1: it through an SEC season playing only five guys. Somebody
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  Speaker 1: gets banged up, somebody struggles, somebody needs a series off,
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  Speaker 1: and Florida potentially has some legitimate options. Caden Jones has
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  Speaker 1: started SEC games. Egan Boyer came over from Penn State
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  Speaker 1: and started at the pinstripe bowl at left tackle last year,
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  Speaker 1: playing 78 snaps in that game. TJ Dice continues to
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  Speaker 1: be mentioned by Coach Summerall. Roderick Kearney has apparently elevated
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  Speaker 1: his play enough that Summerall said Florida can play with
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  Speaker 1: him and win. So maybe the story isn't just that
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  Speaker 1: Florida has found five. Maybe they are getting closer to
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  Speaker 1: having seven or eight guys that they actually trust, and
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  Speaker 1: that would be a huge development. But there is something
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  Speaker 1: Summerall said Monday that I think is probably more important
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  Speaker 1: than any individual name. He talked about cohesion. Offensive line
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  Speaker 1: is different from pretty much every other position on the
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  Speaker 1: football field. You can have five talented players and still
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  Speaker 1: have a bad offensive line. These guys have to work together.
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  Speaker 1: They have to understand how the guy next to them
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  Speaker 1: is going to handle a stunt. They have to communicate.
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  Speaker 1: They have to work combination blocks together. They have to
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  Speaker 1: pass things off in protection. And that only comes through repetition.
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  Speaker 1: Summerall said this group is finally starting to create that
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  Speaker 1: cohesion and gain confidence in one another. And Saturday night
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  Speaker 1: was the first time that he really saw it. He
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  Speaker 1: said the offensive line played its best football of the
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  Speaker 1: entire off season during that scrimmage. That matters to me
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  Speaker 1: so much more than hearing that somebody had one great
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  Speaker 1: rep at practice because they were playing against Florida's defensive front.
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  Speaker 1: And I think Florida's defensive line has a chance to
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  Speaker 1: be really good this season. So when Summerall describes that
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  Speaker 1: scrimmage is basically a fist fight between the offense and
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  Speaker 1: defensive lines and says the offensive line is finally started
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  Speaker 1: playing with a chip on their shoulder, some swagger and
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  Speaker 1: some bravado, that is encouraging, especially considering where this group started.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the bottom line. We can talk about Aaron Filo
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  Speaker 1: versus Tramell Jones, and we can talk about Jaden Baugh,
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  Speaker 1: and we can talk about Vernell Brown and Eric Singleton
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  Speaker 1: and Dallas Wilson and all the weapons that Florida has.
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  Speaker 1: None of that matters if this offensive line can't protect
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  Speaker 1: the quarterback and can't consistently move people in the running game.
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  Speaker 1: Buster Faulkner wants to create explosives. He wants movement and
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  Speaker 1: he wants to use motion. He wants to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that defensive have to defend the entire field. But everything
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  Speaker 1: starts up front. And for months, this was the position
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  Speaker 1: that made me the most nervous. Now, I'm not ready
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  Speaker 1: to say that those concerns are completely gone. I want
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  Speaker 1: to see Bryce Levitt block an SEC edge rusher. I
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  Speaker 1: want to see Oguri hold up at tackle. I want
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  Speaker 1: to see what this line looks like when somebody brings
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  Speaker 1: pressure and the swamp isn't quiet like it is during
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  Speaker 1: a scrimmage. And Summerall himself is clearly leaving the door
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  Speaker 1: open for things to change. But I feel considerably better
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  Speaker 1: about this unit today than I did coming out of
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  Speaker 1: spring football. You have a veteran at left guard. You
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  Speaker 1: have added an experienced center who already knows the offense.
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  Speaker 1: You've added a physical right guard who has played Big
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Ten football. You have a young transfer at right tackle
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  Speaker 1: who apparently beat out a returning starter. And maybe most importantly,
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  Speaker 1: Bryce Lovett appears to have completely transformed himself and potentially
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  Speaker 1: solved Florida's biggest question at left tackle. That is progress.
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  Speaker 1: Now they have two games against FAU and Campbell to
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  Speaker 1: figure out exactly which combination gives Florida its best five
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  Speaker 1: before this schedule gets really going. And I fully expect
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  Speaker 1: Florida to use those games to play some different combinations.
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  Speaker 1: But for the first time this offseason, we can actually
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  Speaker 1: look at Florida's offensive line and say, okay, This is
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  Speaker 1: probably the group. Lovett, Harris, Moore, Shanahan, Oguri. Now we
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  Speaker 1: find out whether they're good enough. All right, guys, I
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  Speaker 1: want to know what you think. Are you confident in
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  Speaker 1: this starting five? Are you comfortable with this starting five?
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  Speaker 1: Which tackle are you the most confident in? And do
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  Speaker 1: you think Bryce Lovett becomes likely the starter at left
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: tackle and that's encouraging? Or does it make you nervous
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: that Florida got this deep into camp before finding its
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: answer there? I want to hear your comments down below.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: As always, make sure you like this video, you subscribe
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: to the channel, and don't forget a big shout out
• 13:10
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• 13:12
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• 13:22
  Speaker 1: and as always, go Gators.